Steel Melting Shop.
i) A MANNESMANN DEMAG 50/60 tons Ultra High Power (UHP) Eccentric Bottom
Tapping (EBT) Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) with facilities for Hot metal charging,
continuous feeding of sponge iron, injection of sponge iron fines, coke and oxygen
controlled by process computer to optimise energy utilisation and melting time.
EBT ensures slag free tapping of liquid steel. Approx. 80% of charge mix for EAF
consists of sponge iron and hot metal, which gives very low tramp elements like
Copper, Tin, Nickel, etc.
ii) A DEMAG 50/60 tonnes Ladle Reheating Furnace (LHF) has a continuous Argon
purging through bottom porous plug. Addition of ferro alloys like FeSi, FeMn,
SiMn, FeMo, FeCr etc using computerised alloy weighing & feeding system,
ensures precise control on chemistry.
Second Ladle Reheating Furnace of 50/60 tonnes capacity has been added in the
existing the Steel Melt Shop. This furnace is provided with High Pressure Hydraulics
and modern digital electrode regulation system.
The sophisticated spectrometer connected to melt shop MAINFRAME Computer aids in
prompt correction of the chemistry, Celox probe for dissolved oxygen measurement
along with CaSi wire feeder to refine and control inclusion morphology ensures
production of “clean” steel in a variety of grades.
75T capacity AOD converter type unit with top & side Oxygen blower facility, to
cater the requirements of stainless steel.
Vacuum degassing unit with 16T boiler capacity and 8 ejectors to achieve 1 mbar
minimum vacuum pressure and produce steels with low gas levels.
iii) Six meters radius, three strands continuous casting machine along with Mould
Stirrer & automatic mould level control computerised secondary cooling system.
Hot billet surface temperature monitoring with the help of infra-red
thermometers. To avoid re-oxidisation of liquid metal stream, ceramic shroud
from ladle to tundish and snorkel from tundish to mould are used.
New CCM has been added and made operational in the existing Steel Melt Shop.
This Caster has capacity to cast blooms upto size 320x280 mm. This machine is
provided with advance features like: Hydraulic mould oscillation system; automatic
mould level controller; separate external EMS for billet & bloom section; automatic
billet marking system etc.
3.1 Melting & Refining in Electric Arc Furnace
The melting of the Hot metal, direct reduced iron and steel scrap is done in electric
arc furnace using the Electricity, heat generated by the arc between the three
graphite electrodes. The chemical process involves the removal of silicon,
manganese, etc. from the Hot metal by oxidation using fluxes like calcimined Lime
& Dolomitic lime. The oxides of silicon, manganese, aluminium etc. form slag. The
molten slag being ligher than steel is removed from the top of the furnace.
The carbon content in the hot metal is reduced by oxygen blowing. The exhaust
gases are cooled and cleaned in gas cleaning plant. Cooled and cleaned gases are
released to atmosphere through 43 m height forced draft chimney. The liquid metal
is poured in refractory lined ladles and transferred to ladle heating furnace for
further refining.
The chemical processes involved are :
1) C+O = CO
2) Si + O2 = SiO2
3) Mn + O2 = MnO2
4) 2P + 5 O = P2 O 5
3.2 Steel Refining in Ladle Heating Furnace
The liquid steel in the ladle is further refined and the desired chemistry of steel is
obtained by adding alloying elements.
For homogenising the liquid steel inert gas argon is purged through the liquid steel
and the flue gases are removed from the top of the ladle through cooled ducting ,
bag filter and released to atmosphere after cooling and cleaning the gases for
particulate matter through chimney.
3.3 Steel Refining in Vacuum Degassing Plant
The Vacuum Degassing Plant has been installed to improve the quality of steel
produced at the existing plant. The main tasks to be accomplished with the Vacuum
Degassing (VD) Plant are:
Hydrogen removal
Nitrogen removal
Exact analysis trimming
Improvement of steel cleanliness
Improvement of casting conditions
At VD Plant, a ladle of molten steel with sufficient superheat above the melting
point of the steel is placed in the vacuum chamber. A connection of inert gas is
made to the ladle and the steel is stirred gently by purging inert gas through the
liquid steel bath.
Thereafter, the chamber is closed and vacuum is applied to the ladle of steel using
steam ejector vacuum pumps. The desired pressure of about 1 millibar is reached in
a few minutes. The inert gas purging is increased to that allowable without spilling
of the liquid metal and the liquid steel is held in this way till the requisite time has
elapsed.
The purging under vacuum homogenizes the liquid steel and expels hydrogen and
nitrogen from the steel. At the same time, the steel is sampled and alloying
ferroalloys are added to a fine tune to deliver steel of the desired composition. This
operation is called trimming addition.
After the treatment is over in about 15 to 20 minutes, the vacuum is broken by
removing the chamber cover and the steel sampled and temperature taken.
The steel is now ready to be cast into billets. The hose pipe delivering the inert gas
is disconnected and the ladle of steel is sent for casting.
The sequence of events is given herewith : Crane operation and preparation of
sample; Setting of ladle into chamber; Connecting of inert gas purging; Start of inert
gas purging ; Moving cover into place ; Reduction of pressure ; Holding inside
chamber ; Opening of cover ; Sampling ; Measurement of temperature ; Ferro-alloy
addition ; Disconnection of inert gas ; Lifting of ladle from chamber.
3.4 Stainless Steel Refining in AOD Converter
SSR process is advantageously used for refining speciality steels & alloys and it is the
most significant advance in the manufacture of these materials. In the case of
electric arc furnace (EAF), five to six hour heat times are required to produce final
carbon content below 0.03% whereas routine production of extra low carbon (ELC)
can be achieved in Stainless Steel Refining Converter in less than two hours.
Similarly, even 0.001% sulfur is feasible with Stainless Steel Refining Converter.
After introducing Stainless Steel Refining Converter in the Modernization Project,
accurate end-point control required in EAF is now relaxed. Furnace charge is almost
decreased after installation of Stainless Steel Refining Converter even while the
product specifications are tightened.
Stainless steel production from stainless steel refining process comprises of three
phases which are indicated below together with key parameters of each phase :
Decarburization
From any carbon level to specification level.
Control of bath temperature.
Additions to adjust heat weight, bath and slag
composition and control
temperature.
Reduction/Desulfurisation
Recover virtually all oxidised metallics
Degas
Sulfur control to any level from 0.001% to 0.02% with a
single or double slag
practice as appropriate.
Trim
Minor adjustments to chemistry and temperature.
These three phases are briefly described below:
Decarburisation
Once the heat has been transferred to the SSR vessel, bath temperature is observed.
Based on the starting temperature, chemistry and weight, a series of calculations to
guide the process is made.
These include :
Amount & tuning of alloy addition
Duration of a given oxygen to inert gas ratio.
Inert gas (nitrogen or argon) selection.
Estimated quantity of reduction material.
At some point prior to the end of the decarburisation period, a sample is subjected
to carbon analysis. This is used to verify and fine-tune the original end point
calculations. Based on this updated oxygen requirement, a precise determination of
reduction additions and fluxes is made.
Reduction/Desulfurisation
After attaining the aimed carbon level, alloys and fluxes which promote recovery of
any oxidised metallics are added (in batch) to the Stainless Steel Refining Converter.
Since the amount of oxygen consumed by metallic oxidation is determined precisely,
the amount of reduction material (usually silicon ferro alloys or aluminium) is
determined accurately. The reduction mix is stirred with inert gas for a period
sufficient to allow completion of oxidation/reduction reactions and slag formation.
If the initial sulfur content is high, desulfurisation slag (CaO/SiO 2 >2) is added after
the original reduction slag is decanted. Stirring is provided for promoting slag
formation.
Trim
Small adjustments in composition are made based on the after reduction chemistry.
Temperature adjustments are also possible within 5 oC in view of predictability of
the process.
Modern SSR practice is characterised by rapid heat times, achieved through the use
of a top lance and occasionally a sublance for sampling and long refractory
campaigns resulting in high productivity and low refining costs.
Stainless Steel Refining Converter is deployed for refinement of EAF output only
occasionally to meet the specifications of the Users. Capacity of Stainless Steel
Refining Converter is 60 T/Heat and is unlikely to be utilised in full for production of
Continuous Cast Billets Plant & Rolling Steel Products at the stipulated levels.
Process flow diagram & material balance of Stainless Steel Refining Converter are
enclosed herewith.
3.5 Continuous Casting Machines
The technology, which is sought from M/s Concast Standard Engineering, is most
advanced and well established in the western industrialized countries. In the
technology the improved mould design’s superior thermal efficiency allows a
significant increase in casting speed as compared to other types of mould designs. It
also improves reliability and quality of billets and virtually eliminates the need of
billet grinding. In fact, Sunflag has felt the need of advanced and latest casting
technology for quite some time with a view to meeting the present and future
requirement of the automobile sector in quality steel. With Continuous Casting
Machine Sunflag is able to produce increased quantity of billets in bigger size range
with improved quality.
The Continuous Casting Machine is required for casting of Billets in solid cross section
of square, rectangle or rounds from the liquid steel. These billets are then used for
hot rolling in various shapes and sizes. The need for high speed casting machine is
felt to match the casting rate to the melting rate in steel mill and in the process we
can attain other objectives of improvement of quality and betterment of material
handling logistics.
Since it is already stated that the steel melting capacity is increased from the
2,10,000 MT per annum to 5,25,000 MT per annum with installation of Mini Blast
Furnace and melting time in SMS is reduced from 100 minutes to 60 minutes per
heat, it is pertinent to have a matching capacity of CCM. While deliberating on the
subject it is felt that installing new bigger Continuous Casting Machine is better than
modification of existing CCM because of certain inherent limitation and old
technology of existing one. Accordingly the casting technology referred as 3 strands
‘CONCAST CONVEX’ 10.25-meter radius complete with all auxiliary and support
systems has been selected. The main features of this machine are as follows:
- 10.25-meter radius to obtain flexibility and straightening strains and strain rates
for improved quality.
- To cast maximum size of 280 x 320 mm.
- High volume liquid holding Tundish to ensure an optimum residence time for the
steel and optimized fluid-flow conditions to enable through put of 480 kgs per
minute per strand.
- CONCAST heavy-duty electro-mechanical driven oscillation system.
- Cartridge moulds with CONVEX mould tubes of 900 mm length for effective
control of billet shape, friction and mould tube life.
- Secondary Spray Cooling to adopt intensive cooling concept for high carbon steel.
- Straightener/Withdrawal unit to ensure unbending of billets at Straightener
device and jerk free withdrawal.
- Automatic hot strand disconnection with permanent dummy bar head to ensure
minimum re-stranding and machine preparation time.
- Additional facilities of electromagnetic stirrer and automatic mould level
controller for improvement in quality.
- Other facilities for even cooling of billets, handling, lifting, stacking and storing
of billets are also provided.
The continuous caster is a machine that converts liquid steel to solidified billets of
size and shape suitable for a rolling mill. The liquid steel is brought to the caster in a
refractory lined vessel called a ladle. The machine receives the ladle by two steel
arms, called a turret, which can revolve and swing the ladle to the casting position.
The turret can carry two ladles at one time and thus facilitate a complete sequence
of ladles that permits continuous casting as long as the ladles can be exchanged in
time.
At the casting position a preheated intermediate vessel called a turndish is brought
under the ladle. The function of the turndish is to hold a reservoir of metal for
casting and permit exchange of ladles without interrupting casting. The turndish also
serves to remove inclusions and is also therefore a necessary metallurgical tool. The
turndish has a stopper rod, which sits on the nozzle. The stopper rod lifting controls
the steel flow through the nozzle and is in turn controlled by measuring the level of
steel in the mould.
The liquid steel is let into a water-cooled vertical curved mould and starts solidifying
inside the mould. The solidifying bar of steel is pulled out by a dummy bar to start
the process and after wards by the solid bar itself. The extraction is accomplished by
a set of rolls, which are driven by a variable speed drive. During extraction of the
steel bar, the solidifying bar is sprayed by a set of nozzles, which deliver water at a
controlled rate.
The bar takes nearly a distance of 28 m to solidify and a time depending on the size
of the billet (the solid is called a billet or bloom depending on the actual size.). The
billet is cut to the desired length after complete solidification and then lifted from
the roller table to a turnover cooling bed or pusher cooling bed. (If slow cooling is
desired)
The billets are now marked inspected and made ready for rolling.
